Cultural analysis and a look into how it's been maligned
The perilous journey through Weird Christian Twitter
When we say "Weird Christians" this probably comes to mind...Trump, conservatives, purity culture, radical Evangalists and more
Well think again...
This group has been maligned by not just non-Christians but within the Christian community
How did Protestanism go online and get weird?
#ChurchToo became a rallying cry for Weird Christians
The Houston Chronicle reveals there have been over 700 cases of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Church over the last 20 years. The SCB was aware of many of the incidents but failed to punish the pastors, deacons, and youth pastors responsible.
Weird Christian Twitter is small but rapidly growing and moving beyond Twitter
Prominent Weird Christians like Hunter Crowder (@HunterCrowder6) and Matthew Pierce (@MatthewEPierce) have upwards of 10k followers.
An official Weird Christian group on Twitter is nearing 1,000 members.
Interviewees told us their followings have grown under COVID-19.
​
This group lives not just on Twitter but podcasts, books and more.
The Doctorine:
No one Christian is the same, but they share a few key viewpoints
Trump Disillusionment:
​
Adam Aldridge, @adamjaldridge
873 Followers
Co-Host of Weird Christian Twitter: The Podcast | Youth Pastor
Adam says young Christians who felt disillusioned by the 2016 election coalesced on Twitter. With their leaders embracing Trump, they needed a space to vent.
Proud Social Justice Warriors:
​
Jarran Sainsbury, @JarranSainsbury
2,637 Followers
Star-Tweeter | Baptist Bad Boy | Master’s Student in Divinity Studies
Jarran frequently roasts Christian leaders on Twitter, but he claims they deserve it. He has been angered by their responses to migrant detention centers and Black Lives Matter.
Pro-Life But Only If It's Womb-To-Tomb:
​
Adam Aldridge, @adamjaldridge
873 Followers
Co-Host of Weird Christian Twitter: The Podcast | Youth Pastor
Adam identifies as “pro-life.” To him, it means more than being anti-abortion. It means supporting all policies that allow human life to flourish, from womb to tomb.
Critical Of Their Religious Leaders:
​
Jarran Sainsbury, @JarranSainsbury
2,637 Followers
Star-Tweeter | Baptist Bad Boy | Master’s Student in Divinity Studies
Jarran says he and other Weird Christians are less loyal to and more critical of church leadership. He claims faith for young Christians has become more personal.
Anti-Purity Culture:
​
Matthew Pierce, @MatthewEPierce
12.4K Followers
Co-Host of Fun Sexy Bible Time | Author of Homeschool Sex Machine
His satirizations of youth groups and homeschool kids resonate with Christians who had to read the Joshua Harris book I Kissed Dating Goodbye as kids.
What the experts say:
WCT isn’t anything really unique. Christianity has been in decline for the last 100 years and new groups constantly keep popping up trying to keep it alive.
For WCT, they are trying to hold on to their faith by vocally rejecting (through Twitter humor) the hypocrisy in the church and creating a community around it--almost evangelizing it.
Looking towards the future of WCT:
